F. A. Q. s
Q. Will an initial site consultation cost a fee?
A. There is absolutely no charge for the first consultation.
Q. Are your services limited to approvals only or do you offer project management?
A. No. We can also offer what is known as full services where we will design the building, obtain all approvals, produce all the technical contraction information, obtain quotes from builder, set up a building contract, oversee the work on site, certify all payments to the builder, certify that the building is complete and agree the final payments to the builder after a 3 or 6 month defects period. This is sometimes known as a turn – key service because all the client has to do is turn the door key to enter the completed building.
Q. How detailed are your drawings?
A. Our drawings are fully detailed and include sufficient information for a builder
to provide a reliable quotation for the work and sufficient information to construct
the work. In addition a separate specification document is produced which describes
the method of construction and the types of materials to be used. All our drawings
and documents are computer generated and can be provided in both hard copy and PDF
digital format which can be printed on a home computer using ADOBE reader. All our
drawings are produced in A3 paper format and all our support documents are produced
in A4 paper format -
Q. How soon after I contact you will an initial consultation take place?
A. We will guarantee a visit within 5 working days and often sooner.
Q. Are you insured?
A. Yes. The practice carries full Professional Indemnity Insurance as required by the governing body for chartered architects; the RIBA, and in addition the practice carries full Employer’s Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance.
Q. Do your fees include planning fees and building regulation fees?
A. No. These fees are separate payments to the Local authority which are payable by the home owner. Planning fees are currently £170 for an extension to an existing home and £335 for a new home. Building Regulation fees are locally set and vary from Authority to Authority, typically the plan fee will be between £125 and £200 for an extension or loft conversion.
Q. Will the cost of your services increase if difficulties arise with Planning Consent or Building regulations?
A. No. Our fees are all inclusive and TPFL Architects will carry out all amendments that are required by the Local Planning Authority and Building Control within the original fee quotation.
Q. Why do I need both Planning and Building regulation approval.
A. Both approvals are required by law and are dealt with by separate departments
at the Local Authority. Planning approval is all about land use and design, is administered
by Town Planners and approval is at their discretion and cannot be guaranteed. Building
Regulations are concerned with meeting technical standards for building construction
as set out in APPROVED DOCUMENTS, is generally administered by surveyors and there
is no question of approval by discretion -
Q. Is planning consent required for all alterations to my home?
A. No. There are some small scale alterations which can be carried out under permitted
development rights. These are listed in detail on the PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT page.
Generally permission is required. A point worth remembering is that Planning has
some oddities -
Q. How long does it take to secure Planning consent?
A. The Local Planning Authority has to deal with your application in a statutory
eight weeks from the date of registration which is usually about one week after the
date of submission. If there are no complications the local authority will generally
keep to this timescale with slight over-
Q. How long does it take to secure Building Regulation approval?
A. There are two types of application; Full Plans and Building Notice. The Local Building Control office will deal with a Full Plans application in five weeks generally and will be most helpful in answering your queries during the checking period, at approval you will have the confidence that the plans have been fully approved and there will be minimal surprises on site. The Local Building Control office will acknowledge a Building Notice application and work can start immediately after receipt of the acknowledgement, they will still be most helpful in answering your queries after acknowledgement but you will not have the confidence that the plans have been fully approved and there will be potential for surprises on site.
Q. Can I start work before obtaining approval?
A. No. You must wait for both Planning and Building Regulation approval (if required) before you start work. If you plan to start on a building notice you must have both planning consent (if required) and the acknowledgement of the Building Notice before you start.
Q. Do I need to issue a Party Wall Notice?
A. If you are building within 3 metres of your neighbour’s wall, yes. TPFL Architects will issue any required notices as part of the architectural planning services covered by the fee. If Party Wall disputes arise with your neighbour TPFL Architects cannot act as your Party Wall Surveyor as the building designer cannot do this, we would however be able to advise on further action. If your neighbour serves a notice on you, TPFL Architects can act as your Party Wall Surveyor if a dispute arises as we would not be the building designer.
Q. How do we know how much your fees will be.
A. We have a fee scale for approvals only work which is set out in our fees page
and a project management fee charge of 7.5% -
Q. Do your fees include Structural Calculations etc.?
A. No. Our fees are for provision of architectural services which does include sizing of lintels over doors and windows but does not include calculations for steelwork. For more involved structural calculations (stability etc.) and landscape design etc. We recommend the appointment of a specialist who will charge a separate fee which they will negotiate with you.
Q. Are you VAT registered?
A. Yes. All our fees have VAT added to them and our invoices are VAT invoices.
Q. What happens if I disagree with a Planning Refusal?
A. You have the right to make a planning appeal to The Planning Inspectorate in Bristol. The appeal application is free and you can make the appeal application yourself. TPFL Architects provide an appeal submission service and carry out all the administration required to submit and progress an appeal to an inspector decision but we cannot guarantee success.
Q. Will there be any formal agreement between us as clients and you as our architect?
A. Yes, If we are appointed on an approvals only basis we will send you a letter contract which we will ask you to sign and return to us – a sample letter contract can be seen on our process page. If we are appointed on a full services basis we will send you a standard JCT consultancy agreement for a home owner / occupier which we will ask you to sign and return to us – a sample contract form can be seen on our process page.
Q. Do you carry out surveys?
A. Yes. We carry out measured building surveys and land surveys. We do not carry out condition or valuation surveys.
Q. Can we have our drawings on disc?
A. All our information can be supplied in any digital format on disc for your personal use. Copyright in all information so supplied is owned by TPFL Architects and use for any other purpose apart from in connection with your project is prohibited without written authorisation from TPFL Architects.
Q. Is postage and printing included in the Architectural Services fee?
A. Yes, including provision of two sets of all information for your use at Planning consent and Building regulation approval stage. We do charge for additional copies required after final approval.
Q. When do I pay your fees?
A. When you instruct us to proceed after the initial consultation we will ask you to sign a form of instruction which will list the services to be provided, the fee payment stages and the total fee (inclusive of VAT). If full project management services are not being provided the fees will be payable in three stages; 50% of the planning fee is payable on completion of the site survey, the balance of the planning fee is payable at the time of submission of the planning application and the building regulation fee will be payable at the time of submission of the building regulation application.
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